Spanish (español/castellano)

Spanish is a Romance language with approximately 470 million speakers,
410 of whom speak it as a first language while the remainder speak
it as a second language. A significant number of people also speak Spanish
as a foreign language. Spanish is spoken in Spain and 22 other countries
including: Andorra, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial
Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
Uruguay, the USA and Venezuela

Spanish first started to appear in writing in the form of notes and
glosses in Latin religious texts, the Glosas Emilianenses,
dating from the 11th century. During the 12th century, law codes
(Fueros) were being translated into Spanish. Spanish prose
flowered during the reign of King Alfonso X the Wise of Castile
(1252-84), who in addition to being the king and a poet, also found
time to write an encyclopaedia in Spanish called Las Partidas,
which contains laws, chronicles, recipes, and rules for hunting,
chess and card games. The first Spanish grammar, by Antonio de Nebrija,
and the first dictionaries were published during the 15th and 16th centuries.

In Spain this language is generally called español (Spanish)
when contrasting it with languages of other countries, such as French and
English, but it is called castellano (Castilian, the language of
the Castile region) when contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain,
such as Galician, Basque, and Catalan.

Some philologists use Castilian only when speaking of the language spoken
in Castile during the Middle Ages, stating that it is preferable to use
Spanish for its modern form. The subdialect of Spanish spoken in northern
parts of modern day Castile is also called Castilian sometimes, and
differs from those of other regions of Spain, however the Castilian dialect
is conventionally considered in Spain to be the same as standard Spanish.

The name castellano is widely used for the language in Latin
America. Some Spanish speakers consider castellano a generic
term with no political or ideological links, much as "Spanish" in
English.

Spanish alphabet (alfabeto español)

A a

B b

C c

Ch ch

D d

E e

F f

G g

H h

I i

a

be

ce

che

de

e

efe

ge

hache

i

J j

K k

L l

Ll ll

M m

N n

Ñ ñ

O o

P p

Q q

jota

ka

ele

elle

eme

ene

eñe

o

pe

cu

R r

S s

T t

U u

V v

W w

X x

Y y

Z z

erre

ese

te

u

uve

uve dobledoble udoble ve

equis

i griegaye

zeta

Ch (che) and Ll (elle) are also considered letters of the Spanish alphabet,
however in 1994 the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) decreed that these letters
would no longer be treated as separate letters in dictionaries.

Recordings of this text

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)